1 Chapter 1 (A New Beginning to an Old Story)

The chains rattle and clash together creating a sharp cling as they moved with the motion of legs. The dark, dirt infested room was bare. There was nothing on the walls beside the chipped, ripped, and crusted concrete. The cold flooded into the room as a guard walked past the rusty door. The thudding of the boots hitting the floor as another guard nears the broken cell. The rattling quickly stops as if someone is holding their breath, waiting like scared pray. A loud creak follows soon after, filling the air and ridding it of the silence. Light washes over the small room in the shape of the old door. A semi-large older male walked in the room. The area around him reeked of arrogance as he straightened his spine as he looked at the small figure chained to the floor. The figure was a small, young, pale girl who looked as if she was in her early teens, maybe even younger. It was obvious that she has been locked in these rotting chains for a long time. The deep blue, purple, bruises didn't help to avoid this fact.

The poor girl laid on the stone floor, clinging to herself, scared of what the man before her would do. The fear was visible on her face. An image that would haunt most people, but not the man. The appearance of her fear was appealing to him. A smirk forms as if he were given a gift, maybe even a bright jewel. Instead, it was the crystal, clear tears that streamed past her eyes that brought joy to his core. Slowly, his figure moved closer to the young girl, his boots clashing across the rough surface. His hands just meters from her when he speaks, "aww, you're such a cutie. No wonder he decided to keep you." Even though he nears her, not once was she touched. The King would not want me to touch her. "An innocent little girl trying to be brave for her kingdom." He pauses, letting the sarcasm drip from the words, "What lies. You were just running away, right?" He laughs. It was cold and had little humor in it. A kind of laugh that was hollow and lacks all emotion. "You're just a weak scared little girl." He continued to tease her, hurting the one thing she had left. Her mind.

He crouched down, leaning almost completely over her, so close she could feel his breath. It was hot, heavy, and left her with a disgusting feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Are you going to look at me?" He said after a while as he stayed smirking. A long sigh came after a little bit. "Not motivated enough? Did he finally break you?" That's no fun. Maybe if I..? No, can't do that. His hands hovered over her. As if it was waiting to strike and yet it never touched her. It was as if he was scared, hiding behind an act. She could see it, how scared he was. Though he wasn't scared of her, no, but it was something that involved her.

The girl could see right through his façade just like he could see through hers. They both carried the same look in their eyes. Broken and shattered; missing an important part of themselves. She knew that he was like her. Lost and trapped in a place, wanting nothing more than to escape. Wishing to have the faith that something will change sooner or later. "Are you going to give me the silent treatment forever, or are you actually going to talk? You've been here for a while and yet you just lay there, chained and quiet. Are you even alive?" She just rolls her eyes at his stupidness. "I failed my family and myself. They took me, prisoner, shortly after." It was the first time in months, maybe years, that she spoke. "What's your name?" She gave a dry laugh. "I'm not supposed to have one now that I am a prisoner to that…beast. Though, I was once called Jordan." He was silent for a few minutes only nodding towards her. For the first time since he entered, he truly looked at the girl. She was covered in scars, smothered in the dirt, and had clothes shredded, torn, leaving holes throughout the entire short dress. He noticed that she had deep cuts around her ankles. They were scared, full of scabs, and look anything but healthy. It was unnatural. Seeing her try and hide her fear. She's like me.

Jordan laid quietly, wishing for the man to go away. To leave her once again in the dark, alone to only her thoughts. I want to be free, but I lost in the end. She laughs a dry laugh. "You can call me Austin." Jordan jumped the slightest bit, as she thought he left. "Austin, huh. Doesn't sound like a guard, more like a great knight. Maybe a king's name?" "My parents expected a talented boy, and well here I am." She nodded. "What about yours? They don't really tell us much about the people here." "Makes sense if you think about it. We are considered the rubbish of this empire. Those who don't belong, why would we have a past?" Austin was quiet for a minute, "Everyone has a past. It's if you want people to know it that gives you the chance to become known." "Yeah, I can see why you think that, but the people here wouldn't care about my life. No matter how good or bad it is." She pauses, "Do you really want to know?" Nothing came for a few minutes, no sound just complete silence. He gives a small sigh, "It wouldn't hurt." It would help me understand why I feel as though I know her.

"Well, it's not a short story. That's for sure." She looks up as she uncurls from her early position. Austin flinched as the chains grind against the stone floors as Jordan moved. "I guess it started by when I was a little girl. Our kingdoms never truly gotten along; it was mostly just for show. You probably don't know all that though. It was hidden pretty deep within the minds of so few. I only know as my mother's dying wish. To know what I would be getting into as the only child born to the king and queen. "As her gaze fell to the floor, the man stood, confused by her words. Wait she was a daughter to a king? How did she get here of all places? "Why are you chained here and not in your castle?" The words came out before he could stop himself. Jordan sat there silent, too silent. Did I break her? "I'll explain everything…you just have to be patient."

"As I said earlier, the problems started when I was little, but it wasn't always like that. There was a time before the war, a time of peace where my people felt safe. Though, that was long before I was born. To understand, you must remember that in my kingdom the next ruler is decided through the females of the bloodline. That means that a girl must be born in order to continue the royals' line. The queen at the time grew ill during the process of trying for a child. It wasn't long until she grew too sick to have one. The king was devastated; even more so after the queens time was up. Though, this was before he's greatest mistake. The king's wish for a child grew far more after the loss of his love. The want for nothing but a little girl to call his own became all he thought about. That want for a child made him become greedy and it changed his personality until even the future of the kingdom was not safe." "What do you mean? How can someone's wish for a child be a bad thing?" Jordan turned away and her head tilted towards the floor as if she went somewhere else. Tears gathered at the edge of her eyes, waiting for the dam she built up to finally collapse, but that day wasn't tonight. With much force she was able to hold in the truth to how she feels. "The king tried everything from asking great spell casters to those who are well known for the dark arts. He didn't find any leads until decades after receiving the throne. By then he felt as if it would take a miracle to give him his most desired wish. He would spend hours consumed in different books, scrolls, trying to find the smallest lead towards a path that would lead to him having a little girl. A child who would grow to become the next queen and save the royal blood line."

The area around them grew in silence, each waiting for what the other would do. One had the rush to ask many questions as the thought for more information gnawed through his core. Creating an ache that would not be satisfied until he learned more. The thought was sad and just as true as the words the girl spoke. The other was quietly waiting to see how he would react at the small amount of information she described to him. They were both anxious and nervous about how the other would react to their conversation so far. The loud rustle of chains shot through the air, clearing it of the earlier tension. A sigh cuts the sound off a bit short. A moment later, "A kingdom where the bloodline follows the queen's side. That's something I have never heard of before." The shock within his voice was not something that surprised Jordan. It has always been like this. No one ever thinks that a kingdom would work in this way, it's unheard of. It's something different. "I still don't see how this would harm a kingdom's future. A child's life is not filled with evil, so why would this be any different?" It can't, can it? A child's life is filled with purity and kindness. A kindness that is received from their mother and father's love." Is this wrong? "Well, you are right to some degree. Most children are born filled with purity, but they learn everything else from their parents. This includes kindness as you said kindness is learned from the care they receive from both the mother and father. Though, you're missing one piece of information. What happens if a child is missing one or both parents? You claim that every child is filled with purity from the time they are born, but what if I tell you that when a child is missing one of their parents, they lose the gift of innocence. They instead are cursed with the knowledge of death, destruction, and loss of love." Jordan pauses, it seems to only last long enough for a single breath.

"This knowledge is something that no child should know until the time of adulthood as it allows them to know the worst the world had to offer. It allows them to be led into the darkness, corrupts them until they are servants to the darkness that now controls them. Corrupted with no chance at redemption." Austin let out a silent gasp. The thought of something so horrid, something completely unknown, was not common at all. It was unbelievable to him, but the same could not be said about poor Jordan. She continued with little thought as if the idea were normal and common to her.

"People don't realize that some children miss out on the most important parts of their childhood and they don't think that this affects a child's growth. They couldn't be more wrong. In our world, not many lose this gift, but when it happens it can create the worse society could offer. There is also a chance it can create the greatest of heroes, but that takes a strong soul who can endure all of that pain. They would have to be able to bare the world on their shoulders and continue to stand without any evil intent coursing throughout their veins." Another pause filled to the brim with silence as she trails off. It was then that they noticed the light dim as the sun was almost completely covered by shadows. Austin broke this silence, "It's getting late…I will have to go soon. Though, I will be back. The story isn't far from over." "Yes, that is very true."

It wasn't long after the shadows of night doused the lands in unseeable darkness, that the guard left the small cell. The tight clink as the old, rusty door slammed shut once more. Let's see if this Austin is really the one who shall hear the tale of how I lost all that I know. My heart, my soul, and my life all for a lie.